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Born before the outbreak of the D’Haran War, to gifted parents, Zeddicus Zu’l Zorander became known as a prodigy; the gift was stronger in him than either of his powerful parents and he was able to breach shields in the Wizard’s Keep that even the old wizards who taught him were unable to pass. Indeed, as a young boy, Zedd discovered previously unknown parts of the ancient Keep.

While he was still a young man, Zedd was named as the First Wizard and the thus administrator of the bustling Wizard’s Keep. Zedd was also in charge of the war effort of the Midlands against their enemies in D’Hara. Zedd was responsible for discovering a way to counter an evil magic, the shadow people, cast by the D'Haran leader, Panis Rahl. However, Zedd's role in the war cost him his dear wife, Erilyn, who was murdered by a quad in an unsuccessful attempt to cause Zedd to turn his back on the war. Later, Zedd’s daughter was captured by D'Haran forces who had similar intentions.

Zedd and Abby during the D'Haran War

At one point, Zedd was visited by a woman named Abby. She visited Zedd to attempt to get a life debt repaid, begging Zedd to help her save the lives of her husband and child, who had, along with her entire town, been captured by a D'Haran army. Zedd at first refused to help. But at the insistence of the Mother Confessor Zedd agreed to see Abby one more time, this time in private. It was then revealed that the debt Abby spoke of was a debt of bones, passed down to Zedd from his father on behalf of Abby’s mother.

Zedd, Abby, a sorceress named Delora, and the Mother Confessor herself ventured to Abby's home town of Pendisan Reach. There, Zedd’s magic was momentarily captured by a Mord-Sith. However, the Mother Confessor used her power on the Mord Sith, saving the First Wizard’s life. Then, Abby ventured into the D’Haran camp dressed in the Mord Sith's red leather, searching for her daughter. Instead, she came upon Zedd's daughter and brought her back to Zedd.

Her pernicious captors then followed Abby, however their attempts to re-capture Zedd's daughter were more reflexive than decisive. Instead of capturing the hostage and the four prizes, Zedd the ‘most prized’ cast a Death spell, which made the Mord-sith believe they saw his daughter murdered, so no one would come to search for her again, consigned to failure. The illusory gambit worked and so the Mord-sith marched toward their base. Fortunately, or so the others thought, Abby’s husband and daughter were revealed to be alive.

Zedd, in an attempt to end the war between D'hara and the Midlands, used an ancient magic to bring a Boundary up between the two warring nations. He also sent deadly Wizard’s Fire over the boundary which killed the D’Haran leader, Panis Rahl, and unfairly injured his young son, Darken Rahl, a lesson that Zorander wished future adepts and mages as well as his wizardly successors might learn from, for war often blinded the eyes of even the wisest among the peaceful.

Many years later, Zedd’s daughter was raped when she was captured by the disfigured Darken Rahl himself unaware of what would have been ice cold revenge for what was done to him, in his attempt to sire a gifted Rahl child. Rahl was successful, but due to a spell Zedd cast, he never discovered this. Eventually, fed up with the Central Council of the Midlands and his students, such as Giller, Zedd used his power to travel unharmed through the boundary he had previously raised between Westland and the Midlands and made his way over to Westland with his daughter and grandson, to live a life free of magic.

Zedd and his daughter kept their familial ties secret during their exile in Westland, though his daughter ensured that the old wizard remained an important part of her life. Before the birth of her child, Zedd's daughter fell in love with a man named George Cypher, whom she married. George accepted his wife's son as his own, giving him the name Richard Cypher.

Unfortunately, tragedy struck when Zedd's daughter died in a house fire, though not before rescuing both her son and George's from a previous relationship. As Richard entered adulthood, he considered Zedd his closest friend, though he did not realize that the old man was in fact his grandfather.

Sometime during his exile, Zedd returned to the Midlands and confronted Shota, who had bewitched the false Seeker of Truth, Samuel, and retrieved the Sword of Truth, taking it until such a time the true Seeker would rise again. The battle between Zedd and Shota was one that neither looked back upon pleasantly.

After crossing through the boundary, the Mother Confessor, Kahlan Amnell, happened across Richard who proceeded to help her kill a quad sent by Darken Rahl, the new Lord Rahl of D'Hara, and escape. However, moments before, Richard was bitten by a strange plant, the poison of which quickly began to incapacitate him. As such, he and Kahlan made their way to Zedd, who Richard believed would be able to help him.

Zedd healed Richard of the sickness who then using his intuitive powers, newly-awakened by the near death experience, uncovered Zedd's long kept secret; that he was the First Wizard, for whom Kahlan had come looking. Kahlan asked Zedd to name a new Seeker, to help in the fight against Darken Rahl and in turn, Zedd named Richard to be the new Seeker, giving him the Sword of Truth.

Both Zedd and Kahlan pledged their lives to Richard as the new Seeker, and volunteered to aid him in his quest to defeat Darken Rahl, the son of Zedd's late enemy Panis Rahl, who had placed the Boxes of Orden into play. Kahlan, Richard and Zedd found an ally in Richard's old friend Chase, who knowing the boundary better than anyone, sought to aid them in bypassing it. However, Zedd and Chase were soon struck ill by the dark magic of the boundary, and Richard and Kahlan were forced to take them to the mysterious bone woman, Adie.

Adie proved able to heal the pair, though she believed the process would take time Richard and Kahlan would not have and suggested that they leave them in her care whilst they continued their quest.

Being a wizard, Zedd was healed by Adie's magic faster than was Chase, and after using his own powers to regrow Adie's missing foot, and standing naked with her on his wizard's rock, Zedd set off to rejoin Richard and Kahlan. Zedd tracked the pair through the night stone that Adie had placed into their care; though he was extremely wary of it.

En route to the kingdom of Tamarang, Zedd intercepted the pair and joined them on their mission to the small nation; Richard and Kahlan had learnt from the witch woman, Shota, that the Queen of Tamarang, Milena, was in possession of the only Box of Orden not in the hands of Rahl. Venturing to Tamarang proved even more opportune to Kahlan and Zedd, as Milena was the same queen who Kahlan's personal wizard, and Zedd's former student, Giller, had dishonourably pledged himself to. Keen to deal with Giller, the trio arrived at Tamarang, only to find that he had been killed by Darken Rahl, who had also apparently gained the Box of Orden he had been safeguarding; however, it soon became apparent that Giller had sacrificed himself to prevent Rahl from discovering where he had hidden the Box.

Whilst leaving Tamarang, the trio met up with Chase, healed by Adie, and the young girl Rachel, to whom Giller had entrusted the last Box of Orden. Though their mission seemed complete, it soon became clear that Richard was under a spell with the use of artistry. He was later captured by the Mord-Sith, Denna, whilst dealing with Milena's henchman responsible for the spell. Zedd and the others however, followed Richard's last order to them; to join with his brother Michael's army, to better protect the Box.

After having met up with the army, Zedd was nearly trapped in the underworld whilst seeking out the nightstone in Richard's possession to discover his whereabouts, though by using Kahlan's power as a lifeline, he was able to escape the trap set for him by Rahl. Later, whilst making their way to D'Hara, the group had what they believed to be an encounter with Darken Rahl himself, atop a dragon.

Having survived the encounter, the group continued on their way to D'Hara. En route however, they were attacked by a quad led by Demmin Nass himself. Touched by Rahl's Subtractive Magic, Zedd's attempts at destroying the quad with magic proved futile and it seemed the D'Harans would prove successful at their task. However, Nass's taunts that claimed Richard was dead forced Kahlan into an ancient state known as the Con Dar. A Confessor flew into this when a threat appeared to someone they love, in Kahlan's case, Richard. Enraged, Kahlan proceeded to use her new found powers to destroy Nass and the remainder of the quad, before proceeding with Chase and Zedd to attempt to kill Darken Rahl in revenge for the apparent death of Richard.

Once at the People's Palace in D'Hara, Zedd led the still enraged Kahlan to its centre; the Garden of Life. There Kahlan used her power to touch who she believed to be Rahl; though the spell that made this so dissolved immediately, to reveal that it was in fact Richard, as it had been atop the dragon. The wizard's web placed on Richard by Rahl caused his allies to see him as their enemy, but his enemies to see him as himself.

At this, the power of the Con Dar immediately left Kahlan and she, and her allies, were quickly captured by Rahl. Touched by Kahlan's power, and not wishing her to be harmed, Richard proceeded to aid Rahl in the preparation of the spells to invoke the power of Orden, having memorized the magical instruction book the Book of Counted Shadows.

However, when Rahl finally chose to open the box he believed would grant him the power of Orden, he was killed, claimed by the power instead. Richard then revealed that he had used the Wizard's First Rule; Rahl had believed that Kahlan's power had touched him, because he wanted to believe it. In actual fact, Richard had learnt to love Kahlan unconditionally, and as such, her power was invalid when turned against him, and he was able to fool Rahl into believing he had given the correct instructions as required by one under the power of a Confessor.

Able to love each other freely and believing their troubles to be over, Kahlan and Richard left atop the dragon, Scarlet, for the village of the Mud People, whilst Zedd remained at the People's Palace.

Whilst discussing the matter of the opened Box of Orden, and the jewel that had appeared when Rahl opened it, Zedd, Chase and Rachel were attacked by a screeling. Being a creature of the underworld, it took a great deal of effort on Zedd's part to defeat the screeling. In the aftermath, Zedd healed a Seer, Jebra Bevinvier, who pledged herself to the service of Richard; who, as the secret son of Darken Rahl, had succeeded him as the Lord Rahl of D'Hara.

Realizing that the jewel that appeared after the Box was opened was the Stone of Tears, Zedd hid it with Rachel, under the guise of a simple necklace. Zedd knew that the presence of the Stone of Tears in the world of the living meant that the veil of the underworld had been torn and that the Keeper of the underworld was near to being free of his prison. Recognizing the danger the world was in, Zedd journeyed to the site of the boundary that had separated Westland and the Midlands, before Rahl had destroyed it, to gain the advice of Adie, who knew more about the underworld than any other living being.

Whilst there Zedd learnt of Adie's tragic past; the loss of her husband at the hands of the Blood of the Fold and her lifelong search for a means to contact him. During their discussion however, the bones of a skrin that Adie had defeated, sprang to life and in the ensuing battle her house was destroyed. In addition, Adie was scratched by the underworld beast and after attempting to heal her, Zedd himself contracted the disease the skrin had passed to her.

The pair became increasingly ill on their journey to Nicobarese; where Adie believed a trio of sorceresses would be able to heal them of their ailment. In addition, the underworld nature of the illness disrupted both Zedd and Adie's gifts, rendering them nearly useless.

Once at Nicobarese, the three sisters revealed that though they would be able to heal them of their ailment, it would result in the pair losing their gifts, as well as their memories. Once this process was completed, Zedd and Adie's coach driver, Ahern, informed them of what had happened and that the only means of regaining their gifts and their memories would be a powerful emotional jolt.

Ahern took the pair to the Wizard's Keep in Aydindril, where, Zedd was met by the Mother Confessor, Kahlan Amnell, though he did not remember her. However, after Kahlan informed him that his grandson Richard had been taken to the Old World by the Sisters of the Light, the resulting emotional reaction was so powerful, that he immediately regained his memory and gift.

Furious, Zedd sentenced Kahlan to death; however, this was merely a pretense, as Zedd realized it was necessary for him to cast a death spell over Kahlan in order to protect her life and fulfill prophecy. It was necessary for the subject of a death spell to truly believe they are going to die, and as such, Zedd had been required to force Kahlan to believe she was to be executed.

By casting a death spell over Kahlan, Zedd ensured that the people of the Midlands believed she had been murdered, and as such, she was no longer hunted. Shortly after this, Kahlan was contacted by the spirit of Denna, who allowed her to spend time in a parallel spirit realm with Richard; before she ensured Zedd his grandson was fine and delivered a message to Adie from her dead husband, returning her memories to her.

En route to Kahlan's kingdom of Ebinissia, a gar named Gratch appeared with a message from Richard that indicated he planned to dissolve the alliance of the Midlands into the D'Haran Empire as a means of better fighting the threat of the Imperial Order. Horrified, Kahlan sent Zedd, atop Gratch, to counsel Richard, whilst Adie stayed with her to act as her protection.

When Zedd and Gratch arrived at the Wizard's Keep, the exhausted pair were immediatley set upon by a swarm of mriswith. Whilst Zedd was able to destroy many of them he was ultimately knocked unconsicous, while Gratch seemd to fall to his death along with the remaining creatures. Shortly after this, a young sorceress named Holly rescued the injured First Wizard, who was then collared with a Rada'Han by Annalina Aldurren of the Sisters of the Light and healed of his injuries by the similarly collared Nathan Rahl. After finding that he had been collared, Zedd displayed an impressive show of power, however, even his magic proved unable to wholly breach the Rada'Han at first. However, as time went by, Zedd's magic proved troublesome for Ann. The First Wizard was successful in casting a light spell on Ann's journey book, as well as casting itching spells on her.

After some time, Ann, Nathan and Zedd arrived at the Palace of the Prophets. In fact Emperor Jagang of the Imperial Order, himself, had nearly reached the Palace and would soon have his hands on the priceless books of prophecy stored there.

This turned out to be Ann's reasons for capturing Zedd; she needed him to create a light web, as only he could create one strong enough, within the vaults of the Palace and ignite it, so as to destroy the Palace of the Prophets, preventing Jagang from having the prophetic books. Jagang, it was revealed, was a dream walker, intent on destroying magic.

Though Zedd was at first reluctant to destroy what he realized to be a remarkable spell that slowed the aging of those within the Palace, he soon realized he had no choice. He set the light web, but found he was unable to ignite it. Ann and Zedd quickly left the Palace, hoping that a Sister of the Dark would accidentally set off the dangerous spell.

When they were safely away, the Palace exploded, though at the hands of Richard himself, not a Sister of the Dark. Ann and Zedd then tried to find Nathan, who had been waiting safely clear of the Palace for them.

However, Nathan had somehow linked his Rada'Han to the bifurcated web around the Palace so that when it was destroyed, his Rada'Han was blown off of his neck. Ann and Zedd then set off to find him.

Ann and Zedd arrived at a less than reputable looking inn, known as Jester's Inn. At the end of the name there was a pair of woman's legs pointing up in the shape of a V. However, both Ann and Zedd had sensed the magic tracer, Zedd had placed on Nathan and it led them there. Zedd felt that something was wrong, but Ann thought that Nathan was probably at the inn for female companionship, after all he had been locked up for close to a thousand years. Zedd then informed Ann that he was beginning to believe that Nathan had influenced prophecy so as to lead to the day where he would be free of his Rada'Han. They also talked about the possible meaning of the strange red moon in the nights sky.

An unusually powerful sorceress though she might be, Ann knew she would be unable to force a Rada'Han back on a wizard of Nathan's skills. Therefore it was up to Zedd to do it. The plan was for him to go into the inn, find Nathan's room and surprise him. Should he get past Zedd, he had placed a light web, that would kill Nathan twenty heart beats after he had walked through it, unless he had a Rada'Han on his neck.

Ann waited outside for Zedd to return with Nathan. However, instead of Nathan running out the door, a stranger named William was attempting to flee, with Sister Roslyn bounding after him. Roslyn soon realized that she and William had been caught up in a light web and attempted to use Subtractive Magic to undo it. Ann ran for her life and was just out of harm's way when the light web ignited, its power enhanced by the Subtractive Magic employed by Roslyn..

Zedd.

Ann entered the room she had thought had been hired out by Nathan to find an injured Zedd on the floor. He told her that Nathan had somehow placed the tracer magic on William and given him a message for the two of them, however he had been forced to destroy it to deprive, the now deceased Sister Roslyn of it.

Using his skills as the First Wizard however, he was able to restore the message. It told them that they must find the Jocopo treasure. Neither Ann nor Zedd had any ideas what this was, but Ann insisted that Zedd would have to remain collared for now and help her find it. Zedd reached up and removed his Rada'Han. It turned out he had known since the second day she had held him captive how to take it off, but had gone along with her because he knew she was doing it for the good of all.

Ann later wrote to Verna through the journey book, asking whether she had ever heard of the Jocopo treasure. Verna said that on her journey through the Midlands, she had only ever heard of one reference to the Jocopo. Apparently they were a now-extinct tribe of the wilds.

Ann and Zedd traveled deep into the wilds, searching for the remnants of the Jocopo. While searching, Zedd decided to use his wizard's rock to find help from the spirit world. While he was doing this, Ann cast sensing webs, to detect if anyone was about. As she did so, she suddenly lost contact with her Han. Zedd's attempts to make contact with the spirit world also failed.

Zedd realized that it was likely a people of the wilds known as the Nangtong causing this. The Nangtong possessed the ability to leech the strength of other people's magic. Having skirted their lands by a wide margin, Zedd believed it to be one of their spirit parties, come to find a sacrifice to give to the spirits. Ann and Zedd quickly tried to escape, but were later captured by the Nangtong.

They were taken to the Nangtong hunting party's village and placed in a pen with pigs. They soon realized that they were to be sacrificed to the spirits, as the Nangtong believed, due to the red moon, that they were angry.
Ann made a comment about "mucking about with a crazy man",[1] which gave Zedd an idea. He knew that without their magic they could not escape the Nangtong, but if they convinced them that they were crazy, they might be less willing to sacrifice them to their respected spirits.

Ann was at first both dubious and reluctant to try acting like a lunatic, but after some encouraging from Zedd, she finally gave in. Ann and Zedd were soon taken from their pen and traded to another people, the Si Doak.

The Si Doak forced Ann and Zedd into slavery, having put magic wristbands on them that prevented their escape, but soon decided that Ann was unsatisfactory in some way and decided to sell them to cannibals. These cannibals were none other than the Mud People, whose spokesperson, Chandalen, knew Zedd and freed the captured wizard and sorceress.

The Mud People told Ann and Zedd that they knew of the Jocopo treasure. Ann and Zedd then discovered a large number of prophecies at the Jocopo treasure and burnt them to prevent Jagang, whose army was to the west, from getting his hands on them. During this, their magic wristbands lost their power and fell off.

After arriving back at the Mud People's village, Ann and Zedd were soon met by Richard, Kahlan Amnell and their Mord-Sith guard Cara, who had all been under the impression that the two were dead. Zedd and Ann were then told of Richard and Kahlan's own troubles, with the Temple of the Winds and the plague started by Sister Amelia.

When Ann and Zedd heard of how Kahlan was forced to call on the aid of the chimes to keep Richard from dying of the plague which he had taken on himself in order to save everyone else, they were both deeply disturbed by this.

However, they decide to reserve their worries for the following day and were witness to the wedding of Richard and Kahlan, as well as Shota's short appearance after the ceremony.

The day after their wedding, Richard and Kahlan would go and spend the day at a hot spring. However, one of their guards, a Mud Person known as Juni, mysteriously died. The Mud People's healer, Nissel, told them that he had died at the hands of evil spirits. They then decided to go and see Zedd and Ann and have them examine the body with their gift.

When they reached Zedd and Ann's cabin, they found symbols written in blood on the floor and walls. Zedd and Ann then decided to explain what a Grace, an important magical symbol, is to Richard. He was at first cautious and wonders why Ann and her Sister's didn't teach him about the Grace when he was at the Palace of the Prophets. Ann said it was simply because they were taking precautions with him, due to the fact he possessed Subtractive Magic.

Richard then asked what a Fatal Grace was; both Ann and Zedd were perplexed as to what this meant. Richard also asked Ann, who had spent her life in the Old World and had most knowledge of Emperor Jagang, if he was able to take over the mind of animals as well as humans. Both Ann and Zedd agreed that he was unable to do this.

Zedd with Richard and Kahlan.

Remembering the business with the chimes earlier, Richard asked Zedd and Ann if they were able to take care of them. They tell him that they had come to the conclusion that there was nothing to take care of, as the chimes were a work of three. Among many other safeguards, Kahlan would need to be Richard's third wife for the chimes to be in the world of the living. Ann and Zedd then explain to Richard and Kahlan what the chimes are.

The chimes were soulless creatures from the underworld, whose presence in the world of life would absorb magic. During the discussion about the chimes and the impact they could have on the world, they heard the wail of a child. As one everyone left the room and ran out into the rain.

They found a mother and her child, who had been hurt by a chicken. Richard became convinced that something was wrong with one of the chickens in the Mud People's village. While out in the rain, Zedd and Ann decided to go and examine Juni's body.

Zedd and Ann discovered that Juni's neck had not been broken as some had suspected and that he had probably drowned. Nissel then entered with a dead baby, born stillborn. Richard then told Zedd, Ann, Kahlan and Cara that he was beginning to think that one of the Mud People's chickens was possessed by something.

Richard had the Mud People round up all of their chickens. As he had this done, Ann and Kahlan had a talk. Ann asked that Kahlan please try to understand that though they might not understand what Richard was doing, he was the Seeker and they must have faith. They were then witness to Richard snuffing out a fire, still burning during the rain. He said a single word, Sentrosi, the chime of fire.

Later when Kahlan was attacked by a chicken that addressed her as "Mother", Ann and Zedd inspected the arrow used to subdue the creature. Kahlan and Richard argued that the chimes were indeed unleashed upon the world, but Ann and Zedd told them that the creature was a Lurk, created by the Sisters of the Dark on behalf of Jagang.

Later Nissel came to Kahlan and Richard informing them that Ann and Zedd had fallen gravely ill. They entered their room to find them lying head to toe, asleep. They opened their eyes and informed them that casting the webs to discover what the Lurk was had cost them their strength and now the runaway degeneration of magic caused by the Lurk was sapping them and soon everybody else of magic.

Ann and Zedd told Richard, Kahlan and Cara to go to the Wizard's Keep and stay there, as it is there they would be safe. They told Richard to go to the First Wizard's private enclave and break a bottle there with the Sword of Truth. They left immediately, though not through the sliph as its magic was contaminated also.

After Richard, Kahlan, and Cara had left, Ann and Zedd woke back up and it was revealed they had been lying. They were not ill, but their magic was being drained by something: the chimes. Somehow they were present in the world of life. They sent Richard to the Wizard's Keep as that was where the chimes had been released, so they could not return and reclaim his soul, on behalf of which Kahlan had called them forth.

Zedd and Ann then parted ways, Zedd to see if he could banish the chimes and Ann to release the Sisters of the Light who had been captured by Jagang. Now that Jagang could no longer enter their minds, she hoped she would be able to free them without his knowledge.

Zedd proceeded to travel to the land of Anderith and with the help of Franca Gowenlock, tracked the lair of the chimes to the Ovens. There, he offered his own soul to them, in place of Richard's. Though he expected to die, having his soul claimed by the chimes served only to cause him to become disembodied; allowing him to be the first wizard in history to inhabit the body of an animal. Unfortunately, offering his soul did not banish the chimes as he had hoped. Zedd's spirit took control of a raven, and in this form, tried to help Richard learn what he had; that the chimes could be defeated at the Oven's. He also attempted to save Franca Gowenlock from Serin Rajak and his extemeists, though unsuccessfully.

Ultimately, Richard learnt how to defeat the chimes, freeing Zedd's soul and restoring magic. Once free, Zedd observed Anderith's occupation under the Imperial Order. He also learnt of a Sister of the Dark named Nicci, who was referred to as Death's Mistress, and acted as an agent of Emperor Jagang's rather than simply his slave. Unfortunately, Zedd was still too weakened by his tangle with the chimes and was unable to remedy the threat she posed to the D'Haran Empire.

Zedd and Adie defend the Wizard's Keep by putting magical spells and defenses in addition to the defenses put there by the wizards of old.Edit

Zedd uses magic to disguise himself as Richard in order to lead Jagang to the palace so that he and Adie could confront him. They use constructed magic and light webs to injure Jagang and deal damage to the Imperial Order. They kill countless soldiers and sisters. Jagang was saved by a pillar of creation but injured badly.

Zedd is captured by Sisters of the Dark and they put a Rada Han around his neck and lock it with Subtractive magic. He then discovers that they captured Adie as well and feels very guilty that he did not search for Adie and instead wanted a bite to eat.

Zedd is required to name off a number of magical item taken from the keep and a Sister brings him a box that hold inside of it a Sunset spell. He took the top off of the box and spit in it to activate the spell. His intention was to kill himself in the process but Chase and a group of others rescue him and Adie. They escape before the Sunset spell ignites and when it does it also delivers a considerable amount of damage to the camp killing more countless soldiers.

Zedd does not remember Kahlan due to the Chainfire spell. He believes she was killed by the Quads due to the presence of a grave at the Confessor's Palace with her name on it, and as such claims he never met her. He thinks Richard was put under a Glamour spell and askes Nicci to use Subtractive magic on Richard to wipe his memory. Nicci disobeys Zedd and takes Richard away. Zedd then went to guard the secret way out that he had shown Rikka in an attempt to block Richard’s leaving.

As the Sisters of the Dark name Ulicia a player of Orden, Nicci names Richard a player. Zedd proved to be the final motive in this. He becomes infuriated that she did so but soon realizes it was the only way. Then Six comes to steal the Box that they possess. He conjures a tranquility web then laces it with a shield web and it saves everyone's life from the witch. Then, Zedd sees that the Keep is bleeding so he must shut it down with a spell designed to prevent the Keep from being intruded upon.

Zedd travels with Rikka to the Caves in Tamarang to reverse the spells drawn to prevent Richard from using his magic. Six captured them by having a trap draw for Zedd when he came but Shota saves their lives by killing her.

In the end Zedd attends Cara's wedding and is once again happy because there is life at the Keep. The Sisters of the Light now reside there and there are three new wizards that can finally train under the First Wizard.

After Cara and Benjamin's wedding, Zedd stays in D'Hara and is harassed by people wanting to know what the future holds for them. While attending a gathering of the leaders to celebrate the wedding he tells Richard that many people in the Midlands have gained a sudden intrest in prophecy and what the future holds for them. He views this as a dangerous thing telling Richard that there is nothing more dangerous than peacetime. During the gathering a women tries to kill Kahlan. Kahlan confesses her and Zedd watches as the women dies for no real reason. After Richard discussed it with him Zedd tells him that there has to be more than what they know about. Soon after Richard finds the omen machine, a machine which gives prophecies. No one has any idea why it was buried away or what its real purpose is. Later Zedd accompanies Richard and Nathan to a supposed prophet to see if she can give them any useful information. She gives them a few prophecies that the omen machine also gives, one of which predicted that her house would burn down. After a prophecy was given that the hounds would take Kahlan, Richard ordered that the machine be destroyed. Zedd started by throwing Wizard's Fire into the machine. Once the fire died down it was shown that it was still standing, with hardly a scratch. Both Nicci and Richard also failed to destroy it. Soon after Zedd discovered that Kahlan had been captured by Jit and Richard had left to save her. He left with Nicci, Cara, Ben and men of the First File to rescue them. He finds them unconscious with Jit dead and after getting them out of her lair he destroys the place with Wizard's Fire. Nicci then explained to Zedd that in order to fully heal them they would need to remove the touch of death within them put in them by the Hedge Maid.

Zedd and the others decide to head for the Garden of Life in order to heal Richard and Kahlan. While on the way there the group is attacked by a horde of half people. Zedd and Nicci tried to help but they find that most of their magic doesn't work against the creatures. Trying everything they know the two are able to figure out the use of air to push them around works to a small degree. Unable to take on their numbers Zedd and the others flee the wagon holding Richard and Kahlan, hoping they chase them and leave the wagon. This works but Zedd and the others are captured in the process. The half people take him to the Third Kingdom were he is a prisioner to Hannis Arc. While imprisioned there the half people would bleed him, thinking the blood of the gifted had special properites. Zedd was able to speak to Richard briefly once he was captured and Richard promised to help them escape. Zedd and the others were eventually saved by Richard and they began their escape together. They had to fight their way through numerous half people and they were becoming overwhelmed. Ben gave his life so the others could escape. Zedd burned the rest of the half people while they made their escape. He and the others, with Samantha and Irena joining them, continue toward the Garden of Life.

Shortly after heading out toward the palace again, the group is attacked by a group of half people. Zedd helps keep them away from Richard while he takes down one at a time with his sword. They head up a small hill surronded by a rock wall to better protect themselves against the next asasult. The First File captures one of the half people alive, and Richard questions them on their motives. He reveals that they will attack when Richard is at his weakest point from the poison. Soon after, Richard begins to weaken from it and the half people begin their attack anew. Zedd, along with Nicci and Irena, help the soliders as best they can. Richard orders that half go up the narrow cliff with himself as bait, seeing it as thier only chance for survival. Zedd heads up the cliff with half the men, incinerating as many of the half people as he can with Wizard's Fire. Kahlan noticed that Zedd put a lot more into the fire than normal. After the half people begin the catch up, Kahlan realizes that with some of the half people's occult powers they won't be able to defeat them. They begin to retreat and Samantha ends the threat by bringing down some of the rock wall, and crushes most of the half people. After resting, Richard wakes up and Zedd tells him that he made a good call on his battle tactic. During the discussion Irena hears that they need a containment field, and suggest that they go to one in Fajin Province. Later that night, Zedd has a talk with Richard about his future. He advises Richard that once they remove the touch of death within him that he take Kahlan somewhere safe and they live their lives together. Richard says that this is something he can't do and Zedd tells him that doing that was one of the best decisions of his life. Zedd tells Richard that the only reason he finds life worth living is to be there for his loved ones. He asks Richard to think about it. Later that night Zedd, growing suspicous of Irena, follows her away from the camp site. Seeing her writing in a journey book and betraying the rest of them, Zedd cast a web to stop her. Not knowing that she had occult powers the web proved ineffective and Irena beheaded him. The discovery of his death was found shortly after by Commander Jake Fister. Richard, pressed for time from the touch of death, has a quick funeral for his grandfather.

Zedd was an old and extremely thin, bony man with pale, almost leathery skin. His white hair sticks out in waves across his head and he had an infectious impish grin. Despite his thin figure, Zedd was far from frail or feeble minded. He had an extraordinary intellect and his hazel eyes flickered with his intelligence. Zedd's face was composed of keen features, attractive despite his age. Zedd's usual attire was simple tan robes that identified him as a powerful and high ranked wizard, however at the insistence of Adie, Zedd did wear extravagant maroon robes for a time when they traveled under the aliases Ruben Rybnik and Elda Rybnik.

Though generally a kindhearted man, Zedd is also capable of turning as cold and hard as stone to those who he thinks are stripping people of their freedom. He is an exceptionally talented wizard and is capable of causing immense trouble for anyone who crossed his path.

Like all wizards of his era, Zedd was only born with the gift for Additive Magic. However, as he had inherited the gift from both his mother and father, it was exceptionally strong in him; indeed, he was capable of things even the old wizards who trained him were not, even whilst still a boy. Because of the inherent strength of the gift in him, Zedd was considered a magical prodigy.

Zedd using magic.

Whilst still a young man, Zedd ascended to the position of First Wizard; a position reserved for the most powerful wizard in the Midlands. During the D'Haran War, Zedd's magical innovations were responsible for countering the dark powers of Panis Rahl and for the overall victory of the Midlands. While Zedd was unable to use Subtractive Magic, he was so naturally gifted, and possessed such an extensive knowledge of magic, that he was able to understand and in several cases use the constructed magic of wizards from the time of the Great War.[2][3]

Magical Mastery:

Zedd had a natural affinity for the gift, having inherited it from both of his parents. Indeed, he was quite possibly the most powerful wizard of his era, being more talented than the wizards who taught him and those that he subsequently tutored. His grasp of Additive Magic was perhaps unrivaled; he was capable of feats that bewildered the millennia old Annalina Aldurren and Nathan Rahl who studied magic their entire lives.[4] He made particular study of magical shielding, and can even remove a Rada Han with relative ease. He knew several complex and powerful spells such as the death spell, which he used to hide both his daughter and Kahlan when they were being hunted.

Wizard's Fire:

The iconic weapon of all wizards, known as Wizard's Fire, was an ability of which Zedd was a consummate master. He famously used the power to kill Panis Rahl at the conclusion of the D'Haran War. This was an impressive feat, as he was able to stike Rahl from a distance of many leagues and was also able to mix the power of the underworld with the fire. Zedd was also known to use the power often during the struggle against Darken Rahl and throughout the Imperial Order War.

Additive Lightning:

Zedd's gift was incredibly strong, possibly stronger than even Nicci's, as he was able to cast lightning inside the People's Palace. Nicci was unable to do so; in fact, it took three Sisters of the Dark linking their power to cast an additive-subtractive mix.

General Additive Magic:

As First Wizard, Zedd was a master of all forms of Additive Magic. He was capable of creating powerful bursts of light and energy, weak enough to simply temporarily blind an opponent, or strong enough to blast someone apart. Separate from wizard's fire, Zedd was capable of creating lesser blasts of heat and fire. Using the gift, the First Wizard was able to suck the heat out of the air to create tremendously powerful blasts of lightning or was even able to create focused blasts of air that were sharper than any sword. He crafted magic horns to be used against the shadow people sent by Panis Rahl.

Using Additive Magic, Zedd was known to be able to restore objects that had been burned to ash to their former form. He was also able to move objects mentally by smothering them with masses of dense air. Indeed, Zedd could cause the air around a person to become so dense that they were effectively paralyzed.

Healing:

Though Zedd's reputation was that of a warrior, he was a talented healer. He was capable of healing the otherwise fatal wounds suffered by Jebra Bevinvier at the hands of a screeling, despite the fact that she was a Seer; a feat she, and most others, had thought impossible. In addition, Zedd could use his abilities to regrow limbs, as he did for Adie, or heal broken bones. Despite Zedd's talents, some wounds were beyond even his abilities such as in the cases of Warren and Reibisch.

Zedd was known to use roots and other plants to create potions to heal minor ailments during his exile in Westland. Wizard Zorander was even able to heal the effects of a snake vine; though he had never encountered such a plant beforehand.

In Legend of the Seeker, a television series based on the events of the Sword of Truth series, Zedd is portrayed by renowned actor Bruce Spence.[5] There are some differences between the book incarnation and this television version though much of Zedd's background remains intact including Zedd being the grandfather of Richard and Wizard of the First Order.